January 30th, 2016 - Evil Dreams Of An Evil Cousin

Good evening!  The Meista here rockin' out tonight to Dio's kick-ass 4th album "Dream Evil" and a big, bold, and tasty Evil Cousin from Heretic Brewing Company!  Hell yeah!  This pairing is for all the family, friends, and fans of the late great Jimmy Bain, who passed away earlier this week.  Rest in peace Mr. Bain!!

Album Info:

• Artist: Dio
• Title: "Dream Evil"
• Recorded: 1987 at the Village Recorder in Los Angeles, California
• Release date: July 21st, 1987 (4th studio album by Dio)
• Record company: Warner Bros.
• Production: Ronnie James Dio
• Album cover art: Steve Huston
• Personnel: Vinny Appice (drums), Jimmy Bain (drums), Ronnie James Dio (lead vocals), Craig Goldy (guitars), and Claude Schnell (keyboards)
• Additional musicians: Mitchell Singing Boys Choir (chorus on "All The Fools Sailed Away")
• Musical style: Heavy metal, power metal, hard rock, heavy blues
• Sound: With that classic Dio sound, "Dream Evil" is full of richly textured metal anthems, mid-tempo rockers, and RJD's incredible vocals.  Maybe a bit more keyboard-heavy than previous albums, it still rocks and rocks hard!
• Major themes: Medieval, occult, and fantasy songs with themes including good and evil, life and death, dreams and nightmares, sorrow and happiness, and degrees of sanity.
• Tracks:  

1. "Night People"
2. "Dream Evil"
3. "Sunset Superman"
4. "All The Fools Sailed Away"
5. "Naked In The Rain"
6. "Overlove"
7. "I Could Have Been A Dreamer"
8. "Faces In the Window"
9. "When A Woman Cries"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Heretic Brewing Company (Fairfield, California)
• Website: www.hereticbrewing.com
• Brew: Evil Cousin
• Style: Double India Pale Ale (IPA) / Imperial IPA
• Serving: 22 ounce bottle
• ABV: 8.0%
• IBUs: 100
• Pour: The Evil Cousin pours a clear golden apple amber with a bright, white, 2-finger frothy head with good retention and strong lacing.
• Nose: The nose is very hop forward with lots of citrus, tropical fruit, herbs, and floral and dank earthiness.  There are strong tropical notes of mango and pineapple, grapefruit rind and juice, lemon zest, orange zest, and pine resin with more subtle cereal grains and caramel malt in the back.
• Taste: A "bold, in-your-face hop monster", the Evil Cousin is a very hop-forward Imperial IPA.  There are not-so-subtle notes of pink grapefruit juice, grapefruit rind, tangerine, black tea, pine, spicy herbs, wild flowers, hints of crackery grains and toffee.
• Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with solid carbonation, the mouthfeel is crisp and refreshing, yet somewhat oily with a dry and bitter finish.

Overall pairing: The complex, yet straight-forward hoppy bitterness of the Evil Cousin from Heretic Brewing Company is an excellent brew to pair with the powerhouse rockin' good time that the songs on "Dream Evil" express!  RJD's vocal range is wonderfully enhanced by those citrus and tropical fruit flavors, while the bitter pine notes and heartier malts are great for Goldy's monster guitar work and the rhythm beast that is Appice/Bain!

Cheers and hails!!  Keepin' it metal and keepin' it craft!!